War Cry Sounds As Yahoo Goes After YouTube And Its Talent With A Vengeance

Is Yahoo trying to start YouTube 2.0? Is it looking to use established YouTube stars to do it? And what does this mean for Yahoo-owned Tumblr?

It became pretty clear that Yahoo wanted to further integrate itself into the streaming video game after their failed attempt to acquire French new media company Dailymotion. Now it looks like they’re taking the “if you can’t beat ‘em, grab their talent and try to beat ‘em again” technique first made popular by Sun Tzu … or was it Chris Brown? Nobody we connected with wanted their name used in conjunction with the notion of jumping ship, but individual YouTubers have been approached and Yahoo is definitely looking to make an impact at the expense of YouTube — and by using their own stars to do it.

“Yahoo Screen was part one,” said one producer who has agreed to be part of Yahoo’s video effort to Re/code, about Yahoo’s current offerings. “Now, this is part two.”

In the end, it is coming down to money. Yahoo is allegedly offering bigger pieces of the revenue pie to YouTubers, as well as the ability to advertise independently. It’s early yet, and most people seem to be watching to see who is going to jump first, but if one big name goes, more could follow. But are enough fans loyal enough to make the switch?

Who do you think would be the first big star to go over to Yahoo? Let us know in the comments below.